Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Loving the Midwest!

Well here I sit on a Tuesday morning once again at the Angus office. We have only 3 1/2 weeks until junior nationals, so the junior activities department is very busy. As the intern, I am in charge of all of the contests and because Angus Jr Nationals is so big, we have to do 3 of those contests before the show. So, yesterday we successfully survived through the photography contest (all 540 entered photos!). One of my good friends, Miss LJ Ashorn actually got to help out with the judging as she is also in the midwest this summer for an internship of her own.

This past weekend I attended the wedding of Abe Redden and Hannah Brewer in Bloomington, IN. Abe worked at Deshazer while I was in high school and during my first three years at Texas A&M, so we were really good friends -- from going out to the hall, to helping out at cow sales, Abe and I have many memories together! Anyways, my dearest friend, Miss Amy Hughes used to be engaged to his brother, so needless to say I did also attend due to moral support. But as always, Amy and I turned what could have been an akward situtation into a good time! While in Bloomington, I visited the largest ever tanning place -- 54 beds! That is also the hometown of Indiana University, so I also got to see a beautiful campus! Due to the fact that it was still 8 hours away from St. Joseph, it was a very short trip, but very much enjoyed! And on my way back, I stopped in Richmond, MO to see another close college friend and old neighbor, Chris Peuster. He is managing a Charolais ranch there, so I graced him with my presence and we went to dinner. Little did I know that he would be judging the Clinton county fair the next day, which is only 30 miles away from me!

So, Sunday night Miss LJ stayed with me so that she could be at the Angus office ready to judge on Monday morning. After the photography contest, I finished up some other stuff and we were soon on our way to watch Peuster judge the county fair!

Now, this was no ordinary 'Texas' county fair as I was expecting. I believe there were only 50-70 people TOTAL in attendance. Most of the hogs were brought out as single entries, so Peuster couldn't screw that up too bad. The cutest part was definately the pee-wee showmanship! I went absolutely crazy taking pictures, videos and dying of laughter to see Peuster down on his knees talking on the mike to the little ones. Absolutely adorable! So after an hour and forty-five minutes, the boar, gilt and barrow shows were complete. One of my judging teammates, Cody Sloan, is from that part of the world and even though he was out of town, I did get to meet his little brother Troy. Troy is going to be a senior in high school, just as my brother, and he reminds me of him in many, many ways. So, to end the evening, we all went to dinner which made me very happy because Peuster is one of my FAVORITE friends!

So, today I have a very busy day as I leave early in the morning for West Virginia for the Eastern Regional Angus Show. I will be gone from Wednesday until Sunday night -- always on the road!

As for the jewelry update -- Queen Jessica Carter is definately saving my life right now! My jewelry account is through a Wells Fargo Bank (which is non-existant in Missouri or anywhere within driving distance), so she has been getting checks in the mail, getting the records, sending them to me, and then depositing my money. I definately would not make it this summer without her! She will possibly have a couple of pieces this weekend at a steer show in Conroe, TX. I have been given the opportunity to have another friend of mine, Kate Farris, take jewelry to the state Brangus show this weekend, but I will have to see if I can make it all work! Needless to say, many thoughts and new ideas are in the air at SJ as we prepare for the Maine, Chi and Shorthorn Junior Nationals!

Well, I better get back to work, but I did want to add an update! I hope everyone has a FABULOUS week! :)

Randa :)

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